Herewith, an account of a few local visits that I made in July. Again, the prime objective was to look for dragonflies and damselflies. The locations will be familiar to regular readers of my blog - I didn't go far!
Sunday, 10th July Saltersford Valley Country Park
I usually try and avoid going out to look for wildlife on a weekend because 'every man and his dog' is also out, but there are a few local places that I can rely on to be quiet, to the extent that, more times than not, I will not encounter another person. Saltersford Valley CP is one of thosae places.
My visit on this day was on a warm and sunny afternoon, and I had the place to myself! As is usual, I first surveyed the board-walk area and saw very little apart from Azure Damselflies.
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Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) (male) - Saltersford Valley CP
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I got all the way round to the second lake without finding anything of great interest and, lazily, raised my camera to a Grey Heron that flew past and then briefly landed in a tree about 30 metres away before departing. I was surprised to see that the results were far more pleasing than I expected!
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| Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) - Saltersford Valley CP |
Out on vegetation in the water were three Red-eyed Damselflies. It's typical of this species that they like to place themselves in positions where it is difficult to photograph them! Here's a record shot of one.
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| Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma najas) (male) - Saltersford Valley CP |
A pair of Blue-tailed Damselflies seemed oblivious to my presence. The female was of the andromorph blue form.
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Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (male + female in cop) - Saltersford Valley CP
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I usually take a few pots with me when dragon hunting, just in case I find any exuviae. On this occasion I didn't take any - to my regret. I found this one on a reed leaf.
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probable Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) exuvia - Saltersford Valley CP
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I managed to tear off the rigid leaf that this was attached to, and stuck the base of the leaf into a pocket so that the exuvia was away from my body, with a view to getting it home safely so that I could examine it and confirm its ID. What I didn't reckon with was brushing against some foliage - which completely destroyed it! I was pleased that I'd taken some shots of it in-situ, and believe my ID, as noted above, is the most likely.
A Four-spotted Chaser was on a distant reed that it was impossible to get nearer to. This was a pity as it was one with quite extensive black markings on the wings, heading towards f. praenubila.
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Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) (male) - Saltersford Valley CP
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There were a few Black-tailed Skimmers in the area, having the occasional squabble over territories. Two of them obliged by perching within photographic reach. One of these had a very noticeable kink in its abdomen.
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Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) (male) - Saltersford Valley CP
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I then made my way back to the first lake and, where there once was a picnic area before Covid times, I stopped to re-scan for dragons. To my utter amazement, a Brown Hawker seemed to be ovipositing in between the the timbers on landward side of the stockade-like wooden walling that forms the boundary between the picnic area and the lake. I stood my ground and she slowly made her way towards me, continually dipping between the timbers, eventually arriving at a point less than half a metre from my feet! It was only me stepping back at this juncture that made her cease her activities and depart.
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Brown Hawker (Aeshna grandis) (ovipositing female) - Saltersford Valley CP
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As I started to make my way back to the car, I found a Ruddy Darter beside the path.
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Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum) (male) - Saltersford Valley CP
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Thus ended a most enjoyable visit.
Wednesday, 13th July Heather Lake
Following a disappointing visit in mid-June, I decided to give Heather Lake another try. The vegetation was even higher than on my previous visit and the brambles more obstructive. It was difficult to see anything over the water.
On my way down to the lake there was a confiding, but very worn, Comma which was defending a territory on the track.
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Comma (Polygonia c-album) - near Heather Lake
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The only damselflies that I saw and managed to photograph were Common Blue Damselflies, and although I saw some Emperor dragonflies, I only managed a poor shot of an ovipositing blue-form female.
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| Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) (male) - Heather Lake |
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| Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) (female) - Heather Lake |
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Emperor (Anax imperator) (ovipositing female) - Heather Lake
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The only other things of interest seen were two species of day-flying moths - both quite common.
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| Udea lutealis - Heather Lake |
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Shaded Broad-bar (Scotopteryx chenopodiata) - Heather Lake
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On my way back, the tatty Comma was still holding territory in the same place.
The disappointment of the state of things at this place which, in previous years, had been a great favourite, has made me reluctant to return this year. I shall see what next year brings.
Sunday, 31st July Saltersford Valley Country Park
We come to the very end of the month, with me having only made four trips out to photograph wildlife - a visit to the Ashby Canal on 5th July has appeared on a previous blog post. My fourth trip out was to Saltersford Valley CP once more.
On the boardwalk, I found a battle-scarred Black-tailed Skimmer devouring a Blue-tailed Damselfly. In the second image you can see that the legs of the damselfly are being discarded.
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| Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) (male) - Saltersford Valley CP |
Further along, I found a Ruddy Darter that was very cooperative in changing its pose on its favoured resting point to give me some decent photo opportunities.
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| Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum) (male) - Saltersford Valley CP |
On other areas of the site, I found Azure and Common Blue Damselflies.
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| Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) (female) - Saltersford Valley CP |
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Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) (male) -Saltersford Valley CP
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I also photographed a few insects. The Peacock butterfly is one of our most common butterflies, but it is quite spectacular!
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Peacock (Aglais io) - Saltersford Valley CP
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Hoverflies of various species were around in good numbers, but I only paid attention to a couple of them. You can tell that the first is a male, as it has eyes that meet in the middle, and the second is a female as the eyes are well-separated. This is a general rule for hoverflies.
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| hoverfly, Mythropa florea (male) - Saltersford Valley CP |
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| hoverfly, Helophilus pendulus (female) - Saltersford Valley CP |
Back at the boardwalk, the Black-tailed Skimmer had sated its appetite and was seeking somewhere to rest and digest its lunch. This gave me a better photo opportunity and shows just how worn this individual was.
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| Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) (male) - Saltersford Valley CP |
As I headed back to the car, I found this Emerald Damselfly lurking in a shady place, away from the water.
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Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa) (male) - Saltersford Valley - CP
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It had been a rewarding visit, and this place is now firmly one of my favourite local dragon hotspots.
My next blog post, hopefully in about a week's time, is probably going to be an account of July's visitors to our garden. I'm slowly getting there and nearly up to date!
In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature. Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard
